Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1950, Page 56

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56 Proceedings of the Forty-First Convention,

to discontinue in January, 1950, the request for $85 monthly subsidy
for pastor’s salary, continuing only the request for $135 a month on
the principal’s salary. Since then emergencies have arisen through
which the Lord is redirecting our financial course.

We shall strive, with the help of God, to cope with these new
problems without placing an additional burden on the Missionary
Board.

The outstanding event, two years ago, for stimulating effort
toward becoming self-sustaining was the task of repairing the
inside of our church (36 by 55 by 18 feet high) with $300, while
estimated at $1,500 or more —~ repairing and replacing plaster in
a 52-year-old building of many tropical storms, repairing and
repainting benches, walls; sanding and staining floor, all with
purely volunteer labor, 40 people, members with a percentage of
friends included, also six ladies, who brought their overalls and
tools and painted sashes and floor, wainscoting, etc. The job
required six weeks, requiring only $5 for labor. The interior of the
church now makes a wonderful appearance.

We have not been paying on our property thus far, because
we feel the Missionary Board will profit most if we pay for
property after having discontinued our request for subsidy.

If self-support in 1950 materializes for Mount Zion, it will set
an all-time high for Lutheran Negro Missions: Self-support in
72 years! How patient God has been! Also the Synodical Con-

!
ference! COMPARATIVE STATISTICS
Souls Communicants Voters Confirmed Baptized
1948 _ 255 124 38 15 32
1949 ____.- 307 135 38 11 44

Oscar W. LuEckE, Pastor
Bethlehem, New Orleans, La.

Bethlehem was founded by the sainted Rev. Aug. Burgdorf.
He immediately opened a school and taught the school himself
until a teacher could be secured. The school has continued un-
interruptedly for sixty-two years and has become a landmark in
the community. The influence this school has exerted on the life
of the upper part of the city is beyond calculation. The annual
enrollment fluctuates around the 350 mark and would go beyond
that figure if our facilities were larger.

In November, 1948, Bethlehem was permitted to celebrate its
60th anniversary in a week-long celebration. For the occasion we
had gathered an anniversary fund of $3,000. and repaired and
renovated our buildings thoroughly. However, the congregation
again faces alterations which the City Board of Health demands
according to new regulations, which may cost us in excess of $2,000.
These heavy repair expenses on our old buildings and an old
paving bill in excess of $4,000 have made it impossible for our
congregation to acquire its property from the Missionary Board.

In spite of these heavy financial burdens, Bethlehem is striving
toward self-support and has now assumed $275 monthly toward
salaries. Our people are learning to give, but, there is much room
for improvement.

The confirmation classes, both children and adults, have been
large in the last ten years. On the first Sunday in May another
class of seventeen, ten children and seven adults, was confirmed.